Learned that declining vulture populations in India contributed to 500,000 human deaths. Cattle get treated with some pain-killer that is fatal to vultures and they don't survive after feeding on carcasses:
The unintentional decimation of these heavy, scavenging birds allowed deadly bacteria and infections to proliferate, leading to the deaths of about half a million people over five years..
This is like the four pest campaign in China and the cane toad introduction in Australia. The decision to treat cattle with that pesticide would likely have been made without thinking through every cascading consequence.
Reading this story made me think about actions people take when they have their back against the wall or atleast feel that they do. That action is a strong response to something in their life where doing nothing, or even postponing action is no deemed possible. That sets off a series of events often unforeseen that lead to outcomes the person was not prepared for and most certainly did not expect.
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